250 
the amount of wealth was formerly 
much greater than at present, He no- 
tices the following instances :—The 
Israelites, soon after their escape from 
Egyptian bondage, offered for the taber- 
nacle gold and silver to the amount of 
170,000,0002. (Exod. xxxviii, 24, 25). 
This was probably borrowed of the 
Egyptians; but it shows that gold and 
silver were plenty in Egypt. The con- 
tributions of the people for the sanc- 
tuary, in the time of David, exceed- 
ed 6,800,0007. (1 Chron. xxix, 7.) 
The sum which Haman offered Aha- 
suerus, on condition of being permitted 
to order the destruction of the Jews, 
was 10,000 talents of silver, or 340,000/. 
(Esther, iii, 9.) The immense trea- 
sure David is said to have collected 
for the sanctuary (1 Chron. xxii, 
14) amounted to 889,000,000/. (Crito 
says 798,000,000/., but erroneously), a 
sum greater than the British national 
debt, and exceeding all the money 
coined since the discovery of America. 
It is supposed by some learned men, 
that David never amassed such an im- 
mense sum,-and that an error has been 
made by the transcribers of this book. 
Prideaux conjectures that the talents of 
‘gold and silver given. by David and 
others for the temple, might be of ano- 
ther sort, of far less value than the 
Mosaic talents. He remarks, that if 
these talents are valued by the Mosaic 
talents, they would have built the whole 
temple of solid silver. Crito estimates 
the talent of silver at 342/, sterling, 
and the talent of gold at 5,475/. sterling, 
according to Dr. Arbuthnot’s “ Tables 
of Ancient Coins,” &c., inserted in the 
translation of “ Jahn’s Archeology.” 
Mines.—The following isthe estimated 
produce of the different gold and silver 
mines in modern times:—Of gold, the 
mines of Europe produce, in sterling 
only 185,020/.; Northern Asia, 76,770/.; 
America the rest of the total of 
2,467,260/. in the following propor- 
tions :—New Spain, 229,630/.; New 
Grenada, 672,500/.; Peru, 111,530/. ; 
Potosi, and provinces east of Buenos 
Ayres, 73,180/.; Chili, 400,550/.; and 
Brazil, 980,870. Of silver, the total 
amount of which is 75314,670/. Europe 
produces 484,580/., and Northern Asia, 
199,6302.; America furnishes — the 
rest; New Spain, 4,945,3402.; Peru, 
1,292,440/.; Potosi, d&c. 1,019,0702. ; 
and Chili, 62,8202. 
New Engine Carriages.—Mr. Brown’s 
New Vacuum Enerne, noticed in our 
last, has already given rise to a specula- 
Literary and Miscellaneous Intelligence. 
[Ocr. I, 
tion among a few gentlemen to establish 
a joint-stock company, for the purpose 
of contracting to run the mail-coaches 
and other carriages, by means of Mr. 
Brown’s new engine. Two hundred 
thousand pounds are to be the nominal 
capital of the company ; but, in the first 
instance, it is intended to raise only 
£2,000, for the purpose of building one 
carriage, and that no further sum shall 
be called for, until a carriage shall have 
been propelled, at the rate of ten miles 
per hour, as far as York and back to 
London. 
Selection of Bengal Raw Silks.—The 
leading pdint which determines the 
value of Bengal raw silk, is the clean- 
ness, or being free from knibs or 
knots known amongst the manufac- 
turers by the appellation of “foul ;” 
evenness of thread is also most essen- 
tial, but silk free from foul will very 
rarely be uneven, and if foul eannot be 
even; indeed, the terms foul and un- 
even in this case may be considered 
synonymous. To judge if silk be clean, 
the best mode is to open the skein, and 
stand with your back to a window, so 
that you lock down the extended silk 
in the same direction that the light 
falls ; by this means you will easily per- 
ceive any foulness that exists, and a 
very little practice will enable any per- 
son, by a mere coup d’@il, to judge accu- 
rately upon this most essential quality 
of Bengal raw silk. The skein being 
well shaken should not exhibit any dust 
or loose ends. The different degrees 
of fineness and coarseness are denoted 
by the letters A. B.C.—Silk of 4-5 
cocons is called A. No.1; of 6-8 co- 
cons A. No. 2: of 8-10 cocons B. No. 
1; of 10-12 cocons B. No. 2; of 12-14 
and 16-18 cocons B. No.3; of 18-20 
cocons C. No.1; of 20-22 cocons C, 
No. 2; and of 22-24 cocons, &c. C. 
No. 3.—All filature silk, or that which 
is reeled in factories, is included within 
the above-named letters and numbers. 
but silk which the natives reel by hand 
is much coarser, and is marked by the 
letters A.B.C.D.E.—It must be under- 
stood that the A. 1 silk of one district 
in India will importantly differ in fine- 
ness from the A 1 silk of another dis- 
trict, dependent upon circumstances of 
climate, culture, &c. &c., thus Bauleah 
filature silk is inferior in fmeness to 
Radnagore or Cossimbazar filature silk 
of corresponding letters, and Commer- 
colly filature silk exceeds these, and so 
on. Each skein of raw silk should be 
gummed in one part, but not so much 
as 
